‘Poor parenting skills, poverty leading causes of child abuse’

Against the backdrop of rising cases of child abuse in the country, a professor of Counseling Psychology at Covenant University, Prof. Abiodun Gesinde, has identified lack of parenting skills, poverty, alcohol and drug abuse as leading causes of child maltreatment in the country.

Gesinde made the submission at the institution 13th inaugural lecture held at the Covenant University Chapel, Ota, Ogun State. While delivering a lecture titled ‘Psychological Virus Undermining Children and Adolescents’ Development: The antiviral in Counseling Psychology,’ Gesinde noted that forms of child abuse include physical, sexual, neglect and emotional with physical abuse accounting for about one out of four substantial cases.

According to him, in a study he conducted in 2007 in Oyo State, findings revealed that lack of parenting skills, poverty, alcohol or drug abuse, illiteracy, and divorce, single parenting and separation are top psycho-social factors sustaining child abuse in the country and until they are kept at bay, attempt to eradicating the menace may be a fruitless endeavour.

He said available statistics indicated that 77 per cent of perpetrators of child abuse are parents, 11 percent other relatives, two per cent caretakers and about 10 per cent non-caretakers.